FALL 2018
On the Edge of Knowledge
WILKES RESEARCH CULTURE PUTS STUDENTS AT ITS CENTER
INSIDE: WILKES LAUNCHES $55 MILLION GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE CAMPAIGN president’s letter
VOLUME 12 | ISSUE 2 FALL 2018
Gateway to the Future Campaign WILKES MAGAZINE University President Will Transform Wilkes Dr. Patrick F. Leahy Managing Editor ix years ago, the University’s Gateway to the Future Strategic Plan was Kim Bower-Spence created with the bold goal of developing Wilkes into one of the finest small Senior Editor Vicki Mayk MFA’13 universities in the nation. Significant funds would need to be raised in order Creative Services to meet the ambitions outlined in the plan, so work began on the Gateway John Csordas to the Future Campaign. Director of Communications SThe largest and most comprehensive fundraising effort in University history, the Gateway Gabrielle D’Amico MFA’17 to the Future Campaign aspires to raise $55 million dollars in support of transformative Web Services Joshua Bonner MS’16 campus enhancements, endowments for research and scholarships, and annual resources. Electronic Communications In the four years since the start of the Campaign, we have raised more than $45 Brittany Terpstra million to advance Wilkes University. To see evidence of this progress, all you need Communications Specialist to do is step foot on campus. The Campus Gateway Project has reshaped the Fenner Kelly Clisham MFA’16 Graduate Assistants Quadrangle and areas surrounding the Henry Student Center. Investments in Stark Sarah Bedford ’17 Learning Center, including the new Mark Engineering Center, have transformed an Samantha Stanich MA’18 aging academic building into a showpiece. Layout/Design In addition, properties along South Main Street Kara Reid Printing continue to be redeveloped in support of our academic Lane Press programs. The Sordoni Art Gallery welcomed record numbers during its inaugural year in its new location EDITORIAL ADVISORY GROUP Anne Batory ’68 and students continue to thrive in the Karambelas Brandie Meng MA’08 Media and Communications Center. Bill Miller ’81 George Pawlush ’69 MS’76 Many more less obvious aspects of the Wilkes Donna Sedor ’85 experience have been improved through the generosity OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT of donors. Programs were established to enable Wilkes AND ALUMNI RELATIONS students to study abroad. Naming gifts have provided Chief Development Officer lasting support for our Passan School of Nursing and Margaret Steele Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing, Associate Director, Office of Alumni Relations Mary Balavage Simmons ’10, MBA ’16 and dozens of deserving students have received tuition Manager of Alumni Relations and Wilkes President Patrick F. Leahy relief from newly endowed scholarships. shares his vision at the kickoff of the Advancement Special Projects Gateway to the Future Campaign. Last month, I had the pleasure of celebrating these Jacki Lukas ’11 PHOTO BY KNOT JUST ANY DAY achievements with the Wilkes community at the public ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OFFICERS kick-off for the Gateway to the Future Campaign. While much has been achieved since President 2012, there is more work to be done. During this final and most critical stage of the Ellen Stamer Hall ’71 Campaign, we will need the support of all of our alumni to ensure success. Vice President Matt Berger ’02 This fundraising effort allows you to direct your funds to the area of Wilkes that Secretary means the most to you. Your contribution is more than just a financial commitment— John Sweeney ’13 it is also a display of your pride in Wilkes. You see, the percentage of alumni who give Historian to their alma mater is the only way third-party rankings Cindy Charnetski ’97 measure alumni satisfaction. So I urge you to reflect on your Wilkes experience and make a gift of any amount in support of the Gateway to Wilkes magazine is published two times a year by the Wilkes University Office of Marketing Communications, 84 W. South St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766, the Future Campaign. I hope that you will consider the [email protected], (570)408-4779. Please send change of address to the above address.
ways in which you can help us build the Gateway to the Wilkes University is an independent institution of higher education dedicated to academic and intellectual excellence in the liberal arts, sciences and professional Future here at Wilkes. programs. The university provides its students with the experience and education necessary for career and intellectual development as well as for personal growth, Dr. Patrick F. Leahy engenders a sense of values and civic responsibility, and encourages its students to welcome the opportunities and challenges of a diverse and continually Wilkes University President changing world. The university enhances the tradition of strong student-faculty interactions in all its programs, attracts and retains outstanding people in every segment of the university, and fosters a spirit of cooperation, community involvement, and individual respect within the entire university. 24
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FEATURES DEPARTMENTS
FALL 10 On the Edge of Knowledge 2 On Campus The research culture at Wilkes has students at its center. 28 Alumni News
On the Edge of Knowledge 16 A Dream Realized 30 Giving Back WILKES RESEARCH CULTURE PUTS STUDENTS AT ITS CENTER Campus enhancements completed in summer INSIDE: WILKES LAUNCHES MILLION GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE CAMPAIGN 2018 transform campus. 31 Class Notes Holly Frederick, left, associate professor of earth and environmental science, helps to assess water quality at 22 Safeguarding Safety North Lake in Sweet Valley, Samantha Sonnett ’04 trains police as part of the Have a story idea to share? Pa., assisted by environmental Contact us at [email protected] engineering student Scott NYPD’s Counterterrorism Unit. Heffelfinger. PHOTO BY KNOT or Wilkes magazine, 84 W. South St., JUST ANY DAY Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18766. 24 Gateway to the Future The University’s $55 million capital campaign Wilkes magazine is available online at will change Wilkes brick by brick, opportunity by www.wilkes.edu/wilkesmagazineonline opportunity and student by student.
26 Animal Advocate Lawyer Garry S. Taroli ’76 helps those who can’t
speak for themselves. | Fall 2018 WILKES
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Wilkes Dedicates Mark Engineering Center Wilkes University’s newest facility, the Mark Engineering entrepreneurship and many dedicated and innovative people,” Center, officially opened with a dedication ceremony on Sept. Mark said. “It is our hope that the Mark Engineering Center 14. The dedication is the culmination of a 16-month, $8 million will inspire innovation and encourage success among Wilkes renovation to the engineering facilities in Stark Learning students for years to come.” Center, creating flexible lab and learning space in disciplines The center was also funded by a $3 million Redevelopment that include nanotechnology, additive manufacturing and Assistance Capital Program grant from the Commonwealth of bioengineering. To see photos of the renovated space, please Pennsylvania. turn to page 20. The center is named in honor of Randy ’81 and Robin Mark, who made a leadership gift to support the project. Randy Mark earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from “The growth and success of Wilkes. He is the owner and president of Pulverman, a global Pulverman is the culmination of a manufacturer of precision metal components located in Dallas, Pa. He has served on the University’s board of trustees since 2013. great education, a community that “We are humbled to be part of the Wilkes University fosters entrepreneurship and many community. The growth and success of Pulverman is the dedicated and innovative people.” culmination of a great education, a community that fosters – Randy Mark ’81
Robin and Randy ’81 Mark, pictured left, celebrate the unveiling of the sign for the Mark Engineering Center at the Sept. 14 dedication. Joining them in marking the occasion are, from right of the sign, Wilkes President Patrick F. Leahy, state Sen. John Yudichak and state Rep. Eddie “Day” Pashinski ’67. PHOTO BY JOSHUA BONNER MS ’16 | Fall 2018 WILKES
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Legendary Athlete, Author and Activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Visits Wilkes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Basketball Hall of Fame center, author and activist, was interviewed by Wilkes President Patrick F. Leahy for the Max Rosenn Lecture in Law and Humanities. The conversation between Leahy and Abdul-Jabbar encompassed key highlights from the athlete’s life. They included reflections on growing up in Harlem, his time playing at UCLA with legendary coach John Wooden and his eventual transition from being the NBA’s highest scorer to his current role as writer and humanitarian. Abdul-Jabbar also offered thoughtful comments about issues of race in America. During his Sept. 30 visit, Abdul-Jabbar took time for pictures with Wilkes students and signed books after the lecture. The event was attended by more than 800 people, one of the highest for an on-campus lecture in recent University history.
Top, Wilkes President Patrick F. Leahy, left, interviewed the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about his career as an athlete, author and activist during the 2018 Rosenn Lecture. Center, stacks of Abdul-Jabbar’s memoir, Becoming Kareem, are ready to be autographed at the book signing after the lecture. Bottom, the Wilkes men’s basketball team had an opportunity to meet the sport’s all-time leading scorer. PHOTOS BY KNOT JUST ANY DAY | Fall 2018 WILKES
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Allan P. Kirby Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Marks 25th Anniversary The Allan P. Kirby Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship celebrated 25 years as a force for economic development in the region with a Nov. 16 dinner at the Westmoreland Club. The event celebrated the center’s successes during a quarter century on the Wilkes campus. The center and its location on West South Street were established in 1993 through a generous gift from Allan P. Kirby Jr. Working with then-Wilkes President Christopher Breiseth and the University’s chief financial officer, Paul O’Hop, Kirby established a center that would promote free enterprise and entrepreneurship as central to American society. The center was named in honor of Kirby’s father. The center’s earliest focus was academic, providing the region’s first undergraduate in the Allan P. Kirby center’s business major in entrepreneurship at Wilkes. Arlen Lessin served briefly as its first director. In incubator, and a full range of services 1996, Jeffrey Alves became director and distinguished professor of entrepreneurship. An provided via a network of volunteer established leader in entrepreneurship education, under his leadership the University business mentors. These services include established majors and minors in entrepreneurship in the Sidhu School of Business accounting, marketing, technology and as well as a concentration in the Master of Business Administration Program and legal services. Twenty-four businesses interdisciplinary programs with other departments on campus. received support in the 2017-2018 During the 25-year history of the center, the Allan P. Kirby Lecture Series has academic year, with 15 started by Wilkes been one of its most successful initiatives, bringing to campus leaders in a variety of students, faculty and staff. business-related fields. The day before the anniversary celebration, the Allan P. Kirby Wilkes students derive additional Lecture was to be delivered by Jake Wood, founder and CEO of Team Rubicon, a benefits from the center via the nonprofit organization that trains and deploys military veterans to disaster zones in Kirby Scholars program. This group the U.S. and around the world. Wood spoke about “The One and the Nine: Building of students is selected via a rigorous Teams and Organizations that Win.” Past lectures included Steve Forbes, chairman and application process among Wilkes’ editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, Andrew Ross Sorkin, author of Too Big to Fail, Jerry academic departments. They benefit Greenfield, co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, and Martin Eberhard, founder from networking and mentoring and former CEO of Tesla Motors, among others. opportunities. Most importantly, they With the advent of Rodney Ridley in 2014 as executive director and distinguished add valuable experience to their resumes professor, the center developed a new focus, providing support and services designed to via the work they do with the businesses help start-up businesses to grow. Support provided to businesses includes office space associated with the center.
EDWARD CIARIMBOLI ’95 JOINS WILKES BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Edward Ciarimboli ’95 has been appointed to the University’s Board of Trustees. He graduated from Wilkes with dual degrees in political science and engineering and applied science. A graduate of the Duquesne University School of Law, he was admitted to the Order of Barristers for Excellence in Courtroom Advocacy and was named a national semi-finalist in the American Trial Lawyers Association Moot Court Competition while in law school. Ciarimboli became a named partner at Fellerman & Ciarimboli in 2005 where his practice focuses on truck and car crash litigation and medical malpractice. He serves on the board of governors for the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, the board of governors of the National College of Advocacy, the board of regents of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys and the board of governors for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. He has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer since 2005. Ciarimboli was recently | Fall 2018 named one of the Top Ten Attorneys—Pennsylvania Trucking Trial Lawyers Association, The Nation’s Top One Percent, National Association of Distinguished Counsel and The National WILKES League of Renowned Attorneys.
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Spring Lectures Bring Sidhu Student Michelle Lehman Luminaries to Campus Wins 2018 TecBRIDGE Business Two of the University’s annual lecture series will bring Plan Competition thought leaders to campus during spring semester 2019. Wilkes University student Michelle Lehman ’18 graduated in Both events are free and open to the public. May with more than a diploma. The marketing major in the Jay Award-winning author S. Sidhu School of Business and Leadership earned $10,000 and Dave Eggers will speak in the $100,000 in in-kind services as the winner of the collegiate division English Department’s Allan in the annual TecBRIDGE business plan competition. She beat Hamilton Dickson Spring out students from Marywood, East Writers Series on Thursday, Stroudsburg, the University of Scranton, Feb. 28, 2019. The lecture Lackawanna College and Penn State begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Worthington-Scranton to win the Dorothy Dickson Darte collegiate prize. Center for the Performing Lehman began studying for her Arts. Eggers is the founder of Master of Business Administration McSweeney’s, an independent degree at Wilkes in August. She is also publishing company based in preparing for a product launch around San Francisco that produces the same time. books, a quarterly journal of Author Dave Eggers will speak “Education is extremely important at Wilkes on Feb. 28. new writing and a monthly to me,” Lehman says. “To ensure magazine. He also is the that I am managing RAE SLEEVES founder of 826 National, a network of youth writing and to the best of my ability, I will be tutoring centers around the United States. Eggers is the completing my MBA at Wilkes as author of ten books, including A Hologram for the King, Michelle Lehman ’18 became the first a graduate assistant for the Allan P. Wilkes student to win the TecBRIDGE which was a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award, Kirby Center for Free Enterprise and business plan competition, earning and the memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, $10,000 for her business, RAE SLEEVES. Entrepreneurship.” PHOTO BY PATTY DEVIVA which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Lehman was awarded the prize based Bryan Stevenson will be the featured speaker at the on her business plan for her company, RAE SLEEVES. With the spring Max Rosenn Lecture Series in Law and Humanities. money, Lehman started manufacturing her women’s clothing line. Stevenson’s lecture, “American Injustice: Mercy, Humanity Lehman has designed a form-fitting shirt that allows the wearer to and Making a Difference,” will take place on Sunday, April transform the look of any outfit by adding one of her garments— 14, 2019 at 2 p.m. in the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for which she calls sleeves—to create a long-sleeved look for any the Performing Arts. Stevenson dress or top. is an attorney, human rights “Winning the TecBRIDGE Business Plan competition activist, executive director of and gaining $10,000 and $100,000 of in-kind-services from the Equal Justice Initiative, and generous sponsors, advanced RAE SLEEVES tremendously,” author of Just Mercy. The Max she says. “I was able to begin the process of manufacturing Rosenn Lecture Series in Law the product for retail. I am in the final steps of finalizing a and Humanities, established manufacturing agreement, sourcing fabric, and completing all at Wilkes University in the technical papers associated with making RAE SLEEVES 1980, recognizes Judge available for women around the globe.” Max Rosenn’s exceptional Lehman is the first Wilkes student to take first place in the contributions to public service. business plan competition. The TecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition is a regional event that celebrates entrepre- neurship, innovation and potential in northeast Pennsylvania. The competition includes collegiate and non-collegiate divisions Author and activist Bryan | Fall 2018 Stevenson delivers the that allow aspiring entrepreneurs to showcase their business Rosenn Lecture on April 4. ideas, start-ups, and early stage ventures to compete for cash and PHOTO BY NINA SUBIN
in-kind services. WILKES
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Q&A Meet Christine Muller
Director, Honors Program Assistant Professor, American Studies
DEGREES B.A., History, Psychology, Villanova University M.A., English, Villanova University Ph.D., American Studies, University of Maryland, College Park
What positions did you hold before joining Wilkes? Will you be teaching at Wilkes as well as directing the Residential College Dean for Saybrook College and Lecturer, honors program? American Studies at Yale University. Yes. Through the History Department I am teaching Producing the History of 9/11 and through the First Year Foundations What attracted you to the job at Wilkes? program I am teaching What We Can Learn from the Zombie As a student, then an administrator, in Villanova’s honors Apocalypse. program, honors education has long figured significantly in my understanding and value of a university education. I welcomed If you could tell people three things about the benefits the opportunity to collaborate with campus colleagues to of being in the honors program, what would they be? provide Wilkes students with similarly rich and rewarding First, the program is guided by faculty and administrators who curricular and co-curricular experiences. truly care about the students. We all share a heartfelt investment in manifesting the potential of this talented community. Second, Can you describe your responsibilities as honors the program is designed to support students’ enhancement of program director? their education, through funding for experiences such as study The role engages students and colleagues from throughout the abroad and research. Third, the students have each other—this university, from admissions and marketing to all of the academic highly-motivated, highly-achieving, interdisciplinary group can departments and disciplines in which our undergraduates are offer one another camaraderie and collaboration as they each involved. In collaboration with the Honors Advisory Council, pursue their own unique version of a Wilkes education side-by- a cross-disciplinary faculty body supporting the work of the side with their peers. program, the director administers program operations ranging from curricular planning to grant funding for student’s If I was not teaching, I would be…. co-curricular opportunities to community events. writing the great American novel.
Right now I’m reading…. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale
People would be surprised to learn that I…. hadn’t traveled on an airplane until I was 23 years old. | Fall 2018 WILKES
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Meet the Class of 2022
% VALEDICTORIANS 52 MALE 631 8 % NUMBER FEMALE 48 OF FIRST-YEAR SALUTATORIANS STUDENTS* 7
STATES MOST POPULAR NAME MOST POPULAR REPRESENTED IN THE CLASS: MAJORS:
MICHAEL BIOLOGY ENGINEERING
21 NURSING PHARMACY
* The Class of 2022 is the second largest class in University history.
NEW MAJORS AND MINORS EXPAND STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
Wilkes increased opportunities for its students with new student pharmacists to earn two advanced degrees in six degree programs, majors and minors that expand career years. These options join a program in which students options after graduation. They included three programs can earn a bachelor’s degree and M.B.A. in industrial and that allow students to acquire a master of business organizational psychology in five years. administration degree in the Jay S. Sidhu School of Business The Sidhu School also added a new undergraduate major and Leadership while completing degrees in other schools in hospitality leadership. Other new programs include a and colleges. A 4+1 bachelor’s degree/M.B.A. program bachelor of fine arts degree in integrative media, art and
gives students the opportunity to earn both a bachelor’s design, a theatre design and technology major and minors in | Fall 2018 degree and M.B.A. in five years. A Pharm.D./M.B.A. program sport psychology and actuarial sciences, all in the College of introduced in the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy allows Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. WILKES
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Wilkes Names Hall In Honor of Jack Miller ’68 Wilkes honored the late John R. (Jack) Miller ’68 with the dedication of Miller Hall. The building at 32 West South Street that houses the fi nance department was named for Miller in recognition of his many years of service to the University. Miller was a member of the University Board of Trustees from 1999 until his death in 2016 and served two terms as board chair. He also served as vice chair and chair of the governance committee. Miller, who earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce and fi nance from Wilkes, retired in 2005 as partner and vice chairman of KPMG LLP. Miller’s generosity to Wilkes included naming a geology lab and offi ce suite in the Cohen Science Center, sponsorship of the Miller Conference Room in the Henry Student Center and the Sarah Wise Miller, center, wife of the late Wilkes alumnus John B. (Jack) Miller ’68, attended the dedication of Miller Hall, named in her husband’s honor. She is pictured with Dan Cardell ’79, left, chair of the establishment of the KPMG/John R. University’s Board of Trustees, and University President Patrick F. Leahy, right. Miller Scholarship, which is awarded to a Wilkes accounting major.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST ON NEWS@WILKES
Alumni and friends of the University can check out the latest about Wilkes on a new web site. News@Wilkes is the official news site of the University. It publishes stories—in print, video and multi-media formats—that reflect the dynamic community that is Wilkes. The site is committed to publishing new, original content that goes beyond news releases to capture the programs, people and events at the University. Check it out any | Fall 2018 time at http://news.wilkes.edu WILKES
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Nursing Graduate Student Dana Hatwig Named Tillman Scholar Wilkes graduate nursing student Dana Hatwig of Jacksonville, Fla., was named a 2018 Tillman Scholar. Hatwig, a lieutenant in the United States Navy Nurse Corps, is among 60 scholars selected from 3,000 applicants nationwide. She is pursuing her master of science in nursing as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. This is the second year a Wilkes student has earned the honor. Jason Homza, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Wilkes, was recognized in 2017 as a student at the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. After her father’s untimely death, Hatwig began volunteering as a long-term care companion at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in Illinois. The mother of five and business executive was given the opportunity to develop and launch “No Veteran Dies Alone,” a federally sanctioned veterans affairs initiative designed to provide emotional and spiritual support to actively dying veterans. She went on to earn her nursing degree and was commissioned as a Navy Nurse Corps officer. “Wilkes University fills Hatwig coached patients and families through their most challenging days as an an important place emergency nurse. Deployed to Afghanistan, her trauma-nursing role was twofold; first to save lives, later to save minds. While stabilizing an injured unit following a VBIED in the nation as an attack, Hatwig experienced patients’ overwhelming anguish and knew she could institution that prides make the most significant impact as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. itself in making a major Identifying the acute need for mental health providers, Hatwig will continue her military service after credentialing as a nurse practitioner. Hatwig’s goal is to assist difference in the lives of service members and their families to live healthier and balanced lives. our veterans and to those “To have two Tillman Scholars from a small university like Wilkes in back-to-back years is humbling, and speaks volumes to the quality of our students. Wilkes University who are still serving our fills an important place in the nation as an institution that prides itself in making a nation like Dana.” major difference in the lives of our veterans and to those who are still serving our – Lt. Col. Mark A. Kaster, nation like Dana,” said retired Lt. Col. Mark A. Kaster, Wilkes veterans counselor. Wilkes veterans counselor Founded in 2008, the Tillman Scholars program supports our nation’s active duty service members, veterans and military spouses by investing in education and Wilkes graduate nursing student Dana Hatwig, professional development. It provides academic scholarships, a national network and a lieutenant in the United States Navy Nurse Corps, was named a 2018 Tillman Scholar, professional development opportunities, so Tillman Scholars are empowered to make selected from 3,000 applicants nationwide. an impact at home and around the world. PHOTO COURTESY TILLMAN SCHOLARS PROGRAM
Remember Wilkes on Giving Tuesday Wilkes University will participate in Giving Tuesday on Nov. 27. Giving Tuesday is observed as a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. We are asking for the support of alumni and friends on this special day to impact the current students of Wilkes. Mark your calendars for the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and help us to make Nov. 27 a great success by contributing
to Wilkes on Giving Tuesday! To learn more about contributing to Wilkes, | Fall 2018 text Wilkes to 565-12. #GivingTuesday WILKES
9 Wilkes Research Culture Puts Students at its Center
By Vicki Mayk | Fall 2018 WILKES
10 When Amanda “At Wilkes, it is a research culture with students at its center,” states Amjad Nazzal, associate professor of Schall ’17 graduated physics. “We are helping young men and women to discover themselves.” from Wilkes, she His research involves two students— junior mechanical engineering received a present and physics major Sam Lizza and sophomore chemistry/premedical major Stephanie Ko. The project from Jeff Stratford, involves synthesizing crystals and exploring their optical properties. associate professor Wilkes’ commitment to research opportunities attracts prospective of biology. students. Leah Thomas, a senior premedical/biology student, says it was a It was a machete engraved with the Wilkes logo, Schall’s deciding factor when she transferred to name and the words “Stratford Lab Legends.” The memento Wilkes as a sophomore. “Other schools commemorated the four years she spent as a student didn’t have the research opportunities researcher in his lab. Stratford, who is an ornithologist, is that we have at Wilkes,” she says. assisted by students as he studies environmental impacts on bird populations, food webs and other ecology-related topics. AN EVOLVING “We had used the machetes in our field work for our EMPHASIS research projects and it was kind of a funny, thoughtful gift,” Schall explains, adding that fellow alumna Chrissy Shonk ’17 During the past 20 years, there has also received one. The tool routinely is used by Stratford’s been an evolution and strengthening students as they cut through brush to find birds’ nests and of the research culture at Wilkes, other specimens. says Mike Steele, H. Fenner Chair of Both biology majors worked with Stratford year-round. Research Biology and head of the After graduating, Schall took the machete with her to Penn biology department. State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa. Shonk is now at the “We’ve always been interested in Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University involving students in experimental in North Grafton, Mass., where she is in her second year of questions,” Steele says. He recalls that veterinary school. Although neither chose a research career, Les Turoczi, former chair of the biology they praise its value in their undergraduate program. department, made a conscious decision “It definitely gave me a lot more confidence to pursue to strengthen that focus. something that I was interested in and the ability to know The benefit to students drove those that I could do it, that is for sure,” Shonk says decisions. “Research makes them better Schall and Shonk’s experience reflects opportunities that critical thinkers,” Steele says. As students are integral to undergraduate education at Wilkes. From graduate and pursue advanced degrees, the time students step on campus, they become part of a they excel above their peers, he adds. University with a research culture. Students assist faculty with Several external grants have funded grant-funded research. Or they complete their own projects, student research. Two—one from the as many majors require students to complete research to earn National Science Foundation in 2000 their degrees. and a second from the Howard Hughes Wilkes’ research emphasis is unique for a university its Medical Institute in 2008—were among Junior environmental engineering majors size. Institutions who tout a research culture are most often many that fueled research opportunities Scott Heffelfinger and large universities, where research primarily involves graduate in biology. Since then, the University Jillian Weston collect water samples from students. What’s more, student involvement is incidental to has taken the lead in providing support North Lake in Sweet the research at those schools. Wilkes faculty are quick to note that encourages student research | Fall 2018 Valley, Pa., to measure nitrate and phosphate the difference. involvement in all disciplines. levels. PHOTO BY KNOT WILKES JUST ANY DAY
11 Anne Skleder, provost and senior vice research with faculty at international SUMMER president, says that Wilkes’ commitment conferences. RESEARCH to support research is reflected in Support also comes from endowed COMMUNITY its Gateway to the Future strategic scholarships and funds which plan. “One of the major goals of the underwrite student opportunities on A unique part of Wilkes’ institutional strategic plan is excellence in academic campus, off campus and even abroad. support enables students to remain on programs, and it calls for support for (Please see the accompanying story campus in summer to assist with faculty undergraduate and graduate students to on page 14 about alumni support for research. In addition to receiving stipends participate in faculty-sponsored research student research.) Other funding comes offsetting the loss of wages they might and scholarly activity,” she says. from myriad places, including the have earned from summer jobs, students That support has taken several forms. academic deans of Wilkes’ seven colleges get free campus housing. It is a perk One was a $1 million commitment to and schools and from specific academic few schools provide for undergraduates. fund faculty research projects. Preference departments. The results of the increased More than 50 students participated in for funding is given to those involving institutional support are reflected in summer 2018. The result is a robust students. Another source is University an annual research and scholarship summer research community. It includes Mentoring Grants, which underwrite symposium. Introduced in 2017, the weekly meetings for biology students— everything from student stipends in multi-day event features more than 100 informally dubbed “pizza Wednesdays”— summer to the cost of travel to present presentations by faculty and students. where the undergraduates take turns presenting their work to their peers.
Biology Professor Kenneth Klemow, center, surrounded by members of his student research team, points out varieties of plant life growing around the Williams Transco Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline. Klemow is researching the impact of pipelines on native plants. PHOTO BY KNOT JUST ANY DAY | Fall 2018 WILKES
12 Wilkes Students Shine at International Conferences
Wilkes students present research at international professional student teams monitored plant growth. Using a one-foot-by-one- conferences in locations as diverse as Singapore, New Orleans and foot frame, the students viewed plants in 120 plots, monitoring Hawaii on topics covering an array of scientific disciplines. Their them three or four times a week from May to August. experiences at these conferences have one thing in common. The poster presented at the ecological conference boasted “We couldn’t find any other undergraduates presenting at a clever title: “Natural Revegetation on Natural Gas Pipelines the conference,” says senior Leah Thomas, who accompanied in NEPA (Surprise: Natives Win!).” It explained results showing Professor Linda Gutierrez to the European Society of Medical that plant species native to the area were not impacted by the Oncology conference in Singapore in 2017. presence of the pipeline. The fact that Wilkes students frequently emerge as the only Klemow says that the poster drew higher than usual attention undergraduate presenters at these prestigious events further in a room with literally hundreds of others. When he checked underscores the unique opportunities available at the University. in with the students manning the table, he learned that they And even more opportunities can emerge as a result of attending received some surprising feedback. “They said, ‘By the way, there the conferences. was a person from a journal, Restoration Ecology, and she said Such was the case with the team of students who accompanied they’d like to see us submit our manuscript,’ ” Klemow says. A biology Professor Kenneth Klemow to the Ecological Society of second visitor from a research institute had left her business card, America’s August 2018 conference in New Orleans. Klemow was suggesting that they apply for funding to continue the research. accompanied by a team of students that included juniors Jillian The students seemed matter-of-fact when they shared this Weston, Scott Heffelfinger, Amber Gruhosky and Cassidy Hyde. news with Klemow—who says it is not typical. What made a They presented a poster on research that assessed the impact of bigger impression was the question they received frequently from a natural gas pipeline on native plant species. Using a site where conference attendees: “When are you going to finish your Ph.D.s?” the Williams Transco Pipeline traverses property owned by Wilkes,
“It’s one of my favorite summer jobs Summer provides students with an STUDENT I’ve ever had,” says junior environmental entry to year-round involvement. Such BENEFITS engineering major Scott Heffelfinger. was the case with first-year pharmacy He worked with biology Professor students John Oberlin and Katy Camaraderie among students enhances Ken Klemow in 2017 and returned Blankenhorn who began working in the research experience. Members of in summer 2018 to work with Holly summer 2018 with Ajay Bommareddy, Frederick’s student team reminisce Frederick ’93, associate professor of associate professor of pharmaceutical about working in the rain, falling in earth and environmental science. science. Bommareddy’s research is the lake while collecting samples and Frederick’s team also included junior investigating the use of alpha santalol discovering that leeches had attached environmental engineering majors as a treatment for prostate cancer. to Heffelfinger’s legs. In biology Kaitlin Sutton and Jillian Weston. The With four years of pharmacy school professor Linda Gutierrez’s lab, where three spent the summer collecting water still ahead of them, the two students she researches factors influencing tumor samples at North Lake in Sweet Valley, jumped at the chance to get a head growth, senior biology students Isaiah Pa., near Wilkes-Barre. They evaluated start on research. “We are learning a lot Pinkerton, Jacob Baranski and Leah the samples to assess how nitrate and of lab techniques in case we want to go Thomas rib each other about their phosphate levels were affecting algae on for a fellowship after graduation,” work. “I’m the organized one,” Baranski bloom, which impacted the use of the Oberlin says. says, saying he makes sure specimens lake for residents. Bommareddy says he especially are properly labeled. “Organized?” “This project was interesting because enjoys working with students from the Pinkerton chortles. “You’re meticulous.” it had the students out at a site where beginning of their academic careers. Gutierrez smiles benevolently, noting the residents are interested in what is “It gives me great pleasure, especially that her job is to train them to work happening to the lake,” Frederick says. working with the P1s,” he states. “I like independently. “It’s like when you “As we would be sampling, the residents the enthusiasm I see in those students. are teaching your son or daughter to would ask questions or offer comments I want to open doors for them and see ride a bicycle: You give them a push and advice. It was a good experience to them grow over the four years.” and they have to go all the way by | Fall 2018 know that they were interested in the
results of the work.” WILKES
13 Endowed Scholarships Support Student Research
External grants and institutional support from the University underwrite many aspects of the student research experience at Wilkes. Support from alumni and friends of the University provides additional funding that enables students to pursue research both on and off campus.
Recent endowed scholarships that support the research experience include:
The Carolann G. and Philip A. Besler Scholarship was established The Bierly Fellowship supports a semester-long experience to support students conducting summer research overseen by for a student and may include undergraduate research, a faculty mentor for the purpose of actively participating in a study away or study abroad trips and internships. Awards scholarly research project. To the extent possible, the intention range from $500 to $5,000. The fellowship honors George is to financially support each student with a $3,000 summer W. Bierly, who left a $1.7 million bequest to Wilkes in his stipend. Students from any discipline may apply but are required estate. A Wilkes-Barre native, successful businessman and to obtain faculty documentation confirming their ability to support community leader, Bierly graduated from Bucknell University a full-time summer project in which the student will participate. Junior College, the institution that became Wilkes University. Preference is given to U.S. citizens identified through the FAFSA He earned his bachelor’s degree at MIT. application. The scholarship is made possible by a gift from alumni Carolann (Gusgekofski) Besler ’76, who is a member of the board of trustees, and her husband, Phillip A. Besler ’76.
themselves,” she says. Her student that he’s learned as much from mistakes studying the physiological responses of researchers affectionately refer to her as as he has from successes. “In research,” women exposed to overt and covert “Dr. G,” reflecting another benefit of he says, “we’re sitting on the edge of forms of sexism. Their students perform doing research: developing close faculty knowledge.” a variety of functions, from monitoring relationships. Skills honed in Wilkes labs also make study subjects to painstakingly entering Of greater significance are skills graduates attractive to future employers data in spreadsheets. “In order to get acquired. For example, working with and graduate programs. “This is how we into graduate school in psychology, the Nazzal gave chemistry/premed studies make our students more competitive in really competitive ones, you have to major Ko a head start on her organic the market,” Nazzal states. have that kind of experience,” Newell chemistry class. But perhaps the most Psychology faculty Ellen Newell and notes. If students do, it pays off: Newell important student benefit is exposure Jennifer Thomas have seen the proof in and Thomas recall one student was to the true nature of scientific inquiry, the students who assist them. Thomas, admitted into all eight graduate experi- where answers are not pre-determined. an associate professor and developmental mental psychology programs to which “When we are doing research, we are psychologist, and Newell, an assistant she applied. traveling together on this journey to professor and social psychologist, are places where no one has been before,” Gutierrez says. Pinkerton concurs, saying
Boats become the laboratory for associate professor of earth and environmental science Holly Frederick ’93, far left, and her students, from left, Scott
| Fall 2018 Heffelfinger, Jillian Weston and Kaitlin Sutton. The three environmental engineering majors sampled water at the WILKES lake during summer research. PHOTO BY KNOT JUST ANY DAY 14 PART OF THE CURRICULUM
Many academic majors require student research projects to fulfill requirements. Biology and biochemistry are just two of many requiring majors to complete senior research projects. In the engineering disciplines, year-long senior projects center around research. Psychology majors can choose to do research-based capstones. Other programs in the social sciences, such as criminology and sociology, require research papers to complete degrees. The communication studies department has made research an Top, Ajay Bommareddy, right, associate integral part of its curriculum. professor of pharmaceutical sciences, Beginning with one of their demonstrates lab techniques used in research to first-year pharmacy foundation courses, “Principles of students Katy Blankenhorn and John Communications,” students are Oberlin. PHOTO BY KNOT JUST ANY DAY Bottom, junior Keira D’Agostino, introduced to scholarly research through left, a criminology and psychology the review of journal articles. Mark major, adjusts equipment on senior criminology and psychology major Stine, professor and chair of communi- Jess Snyder. The research will measure cation studies, says, “It’s important for physiological responses to sexist behavior. PHOTO BY CURTIS SALONICK graduates to have a working knowledge of that literature. It makes for a much more well-rounded communication studies graduate.” Seniors complete a major research project via a two-semester class, “Research Methods.” For some students, the projects are examples of applied research, in which findings can help determine strategies for public relations campaigns or social media. One such example was the research study completed by Taylor Ryan ’16, which studied the effect of media campaigns in influencing African-Americans to become organ donors. All communi- cation studies students complete a written research paper and make an oral presentation to faculty. “This supports our desire to graduate students who being done in both graduate and notes. More importantly, it will drive have outstanding oral and written undergraduate courses. Jennifer a culture of innovation. communications,” Stine says. Edmonds, associate dean, notes that the “How you get to the point of In 2017, the Sidhu School research culture is growing in Sidhu. innovation is through research,” of Business launched a research A robust research culture will help to Edmonds says. “It’s when you begin | Fall 2018 symposium to showcase research grow the school’s reputation, Edmonds to connect the dots.” WILKES
15 A DREAM
THE BULLDOZERS AND EARTH MOVERS ARRIVED on campus two days after the May commencement ceremony. They left the Fenner Quadrangle less than a week before first-year students arrived on campus for fall semester. In between their arrival and departure, a series of projects created a green oasis in the center of campus, planted new trees, built walkways and put the finishing touches on a renovation to Stark Learning Center. These campus enhancements, completed during summer and early fall 2018, have achieved Wilkes’ goal of creating a traditional residential campus within the City of Wilkes-Barre. Part of a $100 million plan, the completed projects include an expanded gateway linking the southern part of campus to the Fenner Quadrangle. Other recently completed projects created new green space and a companion gateway at the south entrance to the Henry Student Center. These pages offer a look at a campus transformed.
At the start of the fall 2018 semester, students returned to a dramatically different Wilkes campus. Pictured here, the Fenner Quadrangle has been transformed with an expanded gateway linking it to South Main Street, new walkways and meeting places. ALL PHOTOS EARL & SEDOR PHOTOGRAPHIC UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | Fall 2018 WILKES
16 REALIZEDAMBITIOUS PROJECTS TRANSFORM CAMPUS | Fall 2018 WILKES
17 1 2
1. A new façade has transformed the Stark Learning Center and the entrance to the College of Science and Engineering. 2. An archway across from the Henry Student Center marks the entrance to the Fenner Quadrangle. 3. A new walkway and a new gathering place have been built behind the student center. 4. The Stark Learning Center courtyard has been transformed into an inviting area to gather between classes. 5. An aerial view shows the pedestrian walkway created behind the Henry Student Center. 6. The archway behind the student center is seen in close up. PHOTO 6 BY KNOT JUST ANY DAY
3
4 | Fall 2018 WILKES
18 CAMPUS ENHANCEMENT BY THE NUMBERS 61,610 BRICKS used to create new walkways 5 26,884 SQUARE FEET 6 of new concrete walk
NEW LED 50 LIGHTS
NEW 40 TREES added to campus | Fall 2018 WILKES
19 MARK ENGINEERING CENTER The dramatic $8 million renovation of the Stark Learning Center will equip Wilkes engineering students with skills relevant to the 21st Century. Funded by a leadership gift from alumnus Randy Mark ’81 and his wife, Robin, and by a $3 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant, the center was dedicated on Sept. 14. Please turn to page 2 for a photo from the dedication.
ABOUT THE MARK ENGINEERING CENTER • Additive manufacturing and high-performance computing labs • Refreshed building facade facing the Fenner Quadrangle and courtyard areas • Microfabrication lab outfitted with equipment donated from ON Semiconductor 1 • Two large flex labs, interdisciplinary-collaboration space and student lounges • Flexible wet lab space for bioengineering 2 experimentation, faculty research and graduate student activities • Dedicated space for 3-D printing and high-end computers that are integral in research and new product design activities | Fall 2018 WILKES
20 3
1. Xiaoming Mu, assistant professor of mechanical 4 engineering, works with junior mechanical engineering major James DeGerolamo on one of the engineering center’s 3-D printers. 2. Xiaoming Mu, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, standing foreground, supervises mechanical engineering junior Jeshurun Sestito in one of the flexible lab spaces. The space allows students and faculty to work on multiple projects in one area. 3. Rooms for student collaboration line the hallway in the Mark Engineering Center. 4. Matthew Saporito, visiting instructor in electrical engineering and physics, confers with Nikolas Placek, junior electrical engineering major, in one of the collaboration spaces off the main lab. 5. Abas Sabouni, associate professor of electrical engineering, standing center right, coaches electrical engineering graduates Yasmin Aboajila ’18 and Matthew Miller ’18. PHOTO 5 BY MARK MCCARTY/CCA
5 | Fall 2018 WILKES
21 SAMANTHA SONNETT ’04 recalls the moment that “Then I started to realize a lot of women were being changed the course of her education and career: It was Sept. 11, choked, but not to the point where they were completely 2001, during a public speaking class at Wilkes. Her instructor unconscious or dead,” she says. “Because of a gap in the law, switched on a television and Sonnett watched in horror as the there wouldn’t be an assault charge even though someone had Twin Towers fell. closed their airway.” “It angered me so much,” she says. “Right after 9/11, I decided In 2010, New York added a second-degree category to its to focus my career on ensuring that something like that doesn’t strangulation laws, stating that choking to the point of injury or happen again.” unconsciousness could be classified as a felony. This meant that It was too late for the psychology major and U.S. Air Force cases previously treated as misdemeanors could now result in Reserve member to change her degree path. So Sonnett up to a seven-year prison term. augmented her coursework with self-study, devouring books on One of Sonnett’s cases was the first to be tried under terrorism and the Middle East. the new law. A man had beaten his 26-year-old girlfriend She later studied master’s degree courses in international and choked her till she passed out. He was charged with criminal justice and counter-terrorism at John Jay College of misdemeanor assault and second-degree strangulation. Criminal Justice in New York City. Sonnett testified in the groundbreaking trial, but the jury Sonnett had hoped to apply her education to a military career, found the boyfriend not guilty of the second-degree charge. but the Air Force unexpectedly discharged her because of her He served 38 days in jail for misdemeanor assault. sexual orientation. Before the 2011 repeal of the military’s Don’t Throughout her career, Sonnett continued to hone her Ask, Don’t Tell policy, openly gay Americans could not serve in counter-terrorism knowledge and skills and, in 2016, was the military. Instead, she joined the New York Police Department. invited to join the COBRA unit. Today Sonnett is an instructor with the Chemical, Ordinance, “I was looking for people to staff the department’s counter- Biological and Radiological Awareness (COBRA) unit, in the terrorism training program and she was the first person who police department’s Counterterrorism Division. She and her popped into my head,” says New York Police Lt. Matthew colleagues teach 18,000 officers a year how to protect the public and themselves when responding to calls related to terrorism and hazardous materials. She is one of two women who are instructors in the four-person unit. The three-day COBRA course includes a day of lecture followed by two days of field exercises. Participants perform tactical operations—shooting, clearing rooms, victim SAFEGUARDING extraction, and running decontamination lines—while wearing hazmat suits and breathing through a respirator. SAMANTHA SONNETT ’04 WORKS FOR THE NEW YORK The training covers situations ranging from terrorism-related events to more common POLICE DEPARTMENT’S COUNTERTERRORISM DIVISION dangers encountered on the job. Sonnett cites By Koren Wetmore an example scenario of an overturned tanker surrounded by a low-lying cloud. “A cop with this training will understand how to read the truck Strong, who has known Sonnett since their days as rookie cops. placards and know that the cloud isn’t from some fire. It’s anhydrous “Her enthusiasm is contagious. She motivated everyone to ammonia and if you walk into it, it will kill you almost instantly.” become an expert in the field and that had a positive effect on She also teaches basic life support skills and trauma treatment the whole unit.” through the police department’s Medical Emergency and Critical Sonnett recently expanded her reach to include first Intervention Unit. responders nationwide. As an adjunct instructor for Texas Sonnett began her New York police career two months after A&M’s Extension Service, she uses her vacation time to train graduating from Wilkes. She served several years as a patrol officer officers in hazmat operations. and in 2010 shifted to the Domestic Violence Unit, where she “We go to funerals nearly every week for people who died handled nearly 4,000 cases per year. from what they were exposed to during the 2001 attacks,” | Fall 2018 Elder abuse was rampant as were crimes against women. Sonnett says. “I want cops to understand the threats—whether Sometimes her investigations led to arrests, but frequently the it’s carcinogens from a building explosion or sarin gas in a
WILKES elderly had dementia and couldn’t be easily interviewed. subway—so we don’t have another 9/11.”
22 SAFETY
Samantha Sonnett ’04 rides on a radiation detection boat in New York harbor—one of the tools she uses in work detecting chemical hazards. PHOTO BY DAN Z. JOHNSON | Fall 2018 WILKES
23 Wilkes Launches Public Phase of $55 Million Fundraising Campaign
Homecoming Weekend 2018—often a time to remember impact at Wilkes University. Whether you are a golden Colonel, the past—kicked off with a celebration of Wilkes University’s a graduate of our most recent class, or a long-time member of future. Alumni, faculty, staff and students gathered for the one of our giving societies, Gateway to the Future off ers an Gateway to the Future Campaign Kick-Off Celebration. opportunity to make a diff erence in a way most meaningful to The event, held in the McHale Athletic Center, launched the you personally.” public phase of the $55 million fundraising campaign that Wilkes President Patrick F. Leahy began his remarks by will transform the University, brick by brick, opportunity by announcing that the Board of Trustees approved a new opportunity and student by student. campaign goal of $55 million and by announcing that Griggs The event was hosted by chief development offi cer Margaret has made a $500,000 leadership gift to the campaign. Steele, who introduced two current students and one young Calling the campaign kickoff “a special event on a special alumna—all fi rst-generation college students—who spoke weekend,” Leahy noted that when he wrote the University’s about the personal transformations each achieved during strategic plan, also called Gateway to the Future, he was their Wilkes educations. (Please see the separate story on the reminded of a quote that he had used in his installation address opposite page for excerpts from their speeches.) Jason Griggs ’90 spoke on behalf of the Board of Trustees.
Noting the campaign’s success during the last four years, Griggs Left, University Trustee Jason Griggs ’90 addresses attendees at the launch of | Fall 2018 said, “This campaign is an opportunity for each of us to have the Gateway to the Future Campaign on Homecoming weekend. Center, Wilkes President Patrick F. Leahy shares his vision for making Wilkes one of the finest small universities in the nation. Right, Wilkes vocalists sing the alma mater at PHOTOS ON THESE PAGES BY KNOT JUST ANY DAY
WILKES the campaign kickoff.
24 at Wilkes. “I quoted the American architect Daniel Hudson Leahy asked alumni at the kickoff to support the campaign Burnham, who said ‘Make no little plans, for they have no at any level possible. Because alumni support is crucial to power to stir the soul….Make big plans; aim high in hope and Wilkes’ rankings in lists of the top colleges in the United States work,’ ” Leahy said, explaining that he took his cue from those published by magazines like U.S. News and World Report, words to advance an ambitious plan for Wilkes. Leahy stressed that gifts of any size are helpful. Leahy outlined four major campaign projects that would be Leahy closed by saying that everything the campaign funds supported by the Gateway to the Future Campaign: impacts one constituency. “You see, like everything at Wilkes, • The renovation of the Ralston Athletic Complex it’s about the students,” Leahy said, referencing the three • The renovation of the building at 116 S. Main St., which student speakers who had opened the program. “I hope you will continue the redevelopment of South Main Street will support the campaign in their names. On behalf of them— while providing new offi ce space and student housing and all of our students—thank you.” • General scholarship and research support • Expanding tuition assistance to make Wilkes more aff ordable and support the University’s tradition of providing access for fi rst-generation students
STUDENTS AND ALUMNA RECALL OPPORTUNITIES AT WILKES
“To those of you who have made “My time at Wilkes University has “To my fellow fi rst-generation college Wilkes a beacon of hope that shines been absolutely nothing like the students in the room, please remember brighter with each eff ort you make to vision I had in place as an incoming to thank those who helped you achieve support each and every capital project: freshman. I have learned to listen to this goal....To the faculty, staff , and thank you. Because of your Wilkes the advice of others and to believe administration of this University, you legacy, we now begin ours.” in myself. And while I believe you have built a place of comfort and should plan and have a plan, the most understanding, one in which I knew – Aislinn Speranza, senior important thing we can do at Wilkes I could succeed, grow, and call my communication studies and marketing is to look for opportunities and take home. Lastly, to the donors: with each major, CEO of Zebra Communications advantage of every opportunity that and every one of your donations, you and Kirby Scholar comes your way.” have been able to not only give me, but numerous fi rst-generation students, – Dillon Davis, senior biology major and the resources we needed to succeed. member of the Honors Program. Davis Without you, I would not be able to call completed research while studying myself a Wilkes alum.”
abroad in Southampton, England. | Fall 2018
– Nancy Ramirez, Class of 2018 graduate. WILKES
25 Animal Adv cate ATTORNEY GARRY S. TAROLI ’76 WORKS TIRELESSLY FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS By Andrew Seder | Fall 2018 WILKES
26 The curtain has come down on the of the Colonels swim team—he co-captained his final two years—he fondly recalls his teammates, the meets and how that world’s largest circus. Sea World has team went from also-rans to powerhouse. stopped breeding orcas in captivity “We ended up breaking every swimming record but one,” Taroli says. Although his name is no longer in the record book, and states have cracked down on his memories remain worthy of a gold medal. He still keeps in puppy mills. There are laws stipulating touch with many of his teammates and they get together often. how long dogs can be kept outside in But while swimming was rewarding for him personally, his success in the water didn’t make a big splash toward helping the extreme weather. Garry S. Taroli ’76 plight of animals, which he yearned to do. After he earned his has applauded the decisions, seeing law degree at Dickinson School of Law and started practicing law with the firm Rosenn Jenkins and Greenwald, he began each as a victory, not just for animals, devoting his free time to animal rights issues. but for humans, too. He was instrumental, along with Luzerne County SPCA Executive Director Todd Hevner, in getting the county council The Wilkes alumnus, a Wilkes-Barre real estate attorney to adopt an ordinance prohibiting dogs from being outdoors by trade, has made a local, state and international name for for more than 30 minutes when the mercury rises above 90 himself in the animal rights realm. His heart, his checkbook degrees or dips below freezing. and much of his free time are devoted to making sure the The ordinance was a feather in his cap and he was even voiceless are heard. more pleased when the Pennsylvania Legislature passed Libre’s Taroli’s involvement is reflected in his board membership Law, a statewide statute that incorporated the outdoor dog with the SPCA of Luzerne County; his work with rescue ordinance Luzerne County instituted and added to it, including organizations in northeast Pennsylvania such as Blue Chip stiffer penalties. Farms Animal Refuge, Valley Cat Rescue or Modified K-9; and His activism isn’t limited to local causes. The July 2015 his role as a special Luzerne County assistant district attorney killing of 13-year-old Cecil the lion on a reserve in Zimbabwe tasked with prosecuting animal cruelty cases. by an American infuriated him. He made his outrage known The Dallas, Pa., resident has shared his home with more through media interviews, a Washington rally and even a letter than a dozen animals in his life, including Lilah, a German to the Zimbabwe embassy. shepherd/collie mix who died in 2017 at the age of 16. A vegetarian since 1995, Taroli, who loves the Grateful Dead, “You always hear about dogs that are your soulmate,” Taroli the San Francisco Giants and Star Trek, quotes Ghandi: “The says. “That was her.” greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are But it was Laddie, his very first dog, that made an indelible treated.” impression on his psyche and steered him down a lifelong Hevner praises Taroli for his work with the SPCA and his path of acting in the best interests of animals. His parents animal rights advocacy, much of it on a pro bono basis. Taroli brought Laddie home to the family home in Kingston, Pa., received the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Pro Bono award in when Taroli was 4. The two quickly bonded, but within a few 2017 and was recognized with a citation from the state House years the dog had contracted distemper, which at that time of Representatives for his advocacy work. was a death sentence. “I don’t know a man who is a bigger advocate for animals, His parents sent Laddie to live with Taroli’s grandfather, who period,” Hevner says, adding that the passion, knowledge and worked in the coal mines for decades and who was known as guidance Taroli has provided to the SPCA and other organi- someone who could fix anything. Young Garry thought the zations is “invaluable.” dog could be fixed, too, but he learned that wasn’t the case. Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis says “Years later, when that scene came back to me, it was one of even before she became district attorney, she knew Taroli from those things that really affected me,” he says. His love of animals his reputation as someone “known for his dedication to help was uncaged. animals who have suffered from abuse and neglect. When I met Taroli majored in political science at Wilkes. While he still him, I realized he was so much more.” lived with his parents during college, the Wilkes swimming The press release that accompanied the pro bono award pool was his home away from home. A four-year member called Taroli “a hero.” Taroli scoffs at the word. “There are people like Todd, humane officers like Wayne
Harvey, Marge Bart at Blue Chip, who live this every minute | Fall 2018
Garry S. Taroli ’76 confers with Big Mama, of every day. They’re the heroes,” he says. one of the dogs whose cases he has
defended for the Luzerne County SPCA. WILKES PHOTO BY EARL AND SEDOR PHOTOGRAPHIC 27 alumni news
Troy Carey ’16 Alumni Association Occupation: Information Security Welcomes New Analyst, NBT Bank I came to Wilkes as a freshman Board Members in 2013. During my time there, I quickly learned what made this The Alumni Association Board of University so special. The faculty Directors welcomed six new directors and staff are one of a kind. They care about the students and truly want elected to the board during the March to see them succeed. I had so many professors who I relied on, 2018 meeting. They began their in and out of class, to make my experience that much more three-year terms in June. successful. They helped me fulfill goals I didn’t know I was capable of achieving. The alumni board gives former students a The six new directors talk about their unique way to give back to future students, staff, and faculty at a university that’s already given us so much. My time at Wilkes favorite thing about their experience played a huge role in making me the person I am today, and I attending Wilkes and about what they want to provide that same opportunity for current and future students. It’s also fun to connect with other alumni who I might like about being involved as alumni. not otherwise communicate with. This is such an engaging community of people to be a part of, and one that allows me to be an even closer part of Wilkes University.
Rich Albrecht ’05 Neal McHugh ’86 Occupation: Assistant Director, Occupation: Manager of Institute on Protective Services Environmental Affairs, Buckeye at Temple University Partners
My favorite thing about my I transferred to Wilkes after attending Wilkes experience was the “Wilkes a community college and expected to experience.” On the academic side, feel like an outsider, but that was not taking Dr. (Robert) Bohlander’s class, the case. I quickly became part of the “Critical Thinking in Psychology,” Wilkes family with the help of Deans probably had the largest impact on me, personally and profes- George Ralston and Art Hoover, two men who mentored me sionally. The second thing that stuck out to me was the during my time at Wilkes. I found that my professors would atmosphere created by the faculty and staff of the psychology go the extra mile to help me be successful if I put in the work. department; it is second to none. I enjoyed the opportu- Through my participation in Air Force ROTC, the First Aid nities to travel with Dr. Bohlander and Dr. (Deborah) Tindell Team, Student Government and as a resident assistant, I learned attending psychology conferences and getting to know them many valuable life skills and made lifelong friends. I welcome on a personal level. Dr. (Ed) Schicatano’s contagious passion for the chance to become a bigger part of the Wilkes family. I have neuroscience was a blessing and I am thankful for all the hard been working with the mentoring program for a few years and work in getting the neuroscience program approved as a minor joining the alumni board gives me a chance to become more of and, subsequently, as a major. As an alumni board member, I an advocate for Wilkes and assist in achieving the goals of the am excited for the additional opportunities to interact with Alumni Association and the University. I think we can really current students and alumni. While I’ve been involved with the expand alumni participation of the 1980s era alumni—my mentoring program since its infancy, I am looking forward to era—so I plan to make that a focus while I am a member of the those interactions in a variety of differing formats. alumni board. | Fall 2018 WILKES
28 alumni news
Donna Chisarick Lisa Shafer ’01 Michael ’78 Occupation: Senior Director of Occupation: Registered Nurse Alumni and Parent Engagement, Swarthmore College I’ve always spoken highly of my time at Wilkes. Academically, I was My appreciation for Wilkes has prepared to head into my career grown over time. My career in as a nurse, well prepared to take higher education advancement has on whatever job I chose and be allowed me to reflect, observe, and successful. So many memories of truly see the real value in Wilkes as studying in the library or drinking coffee in the commons an institution, not just for its students, but also for the region. added to the exceptional learning experience. I can never talk I look forward to the University continuing to find ways for it about my college experience without mentioning the friends I to expand its reach, since it has so much to bring to the table. I made and how we have a special bond and still remain friends. am excited and honored to join the Alumni Association Board Returning for Homecoming is one of the highlights of every of Directors, because I see this as another opportunity for year for me. Social media has helped us stay close throughout me to reconnect with Wilkes—learning from it yet again and the year, but the time we get to sit together and reminisce is hopefully contributing more to it this time around. so important to me. Living in Georgia, I sometimes feel so far away, but spending time with my Wilkes people brings me back to my roots! I always wanted to get involved with the MEET THE 2018 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION University in some way and I am honored that I now have the SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT: HUNNTER MAXWELL chance through the Alumni Board. I’m hoping to contribute ideas to keep my fellow alumni interested in coming back Hunnter Maxwell PharmD ’22 was awarded the Alumni to where it all started and celebrate the growth of our Association Scholarship for the 2018-2019 academic great University. year. Both of Hunnter’s parents, Scott ’94 and Donna Dicton Maxwell ’93, are Wilkes alumni. Hunnter, a Michael Scott ’93 pharmacy student, is a student-athlete on the men’s Occupation: Proprietor, Nips Park soccer team and is involved in the Pre-Pharmacy Club. Avenue Saloon Learn more about our recipient by visiting: www.wilkes.edu/HunnterMaxwell As I take the time to reflect on my educational experience at Wilkes, I am profoundly grateful for everything that I have been blessed with, personally as well as professionally. When I chose Wilkes University, I had no way of knowing that I would be so truly fortunate to have forged the lifelong friendships my time at the University has provided me. My time at Wilkes prepared me to take on many different and challenging opportunities throughout my professional career. It is with great pride that I have introduced several student athletes to Wilkes, and I’ve enjoyed watching them evolve into outstanding young men and great represen- tatives of the University. I am proud that I am able to serve the University that has blessed me with so much. | Fall 2018
Hunnter Maxwell, second from left, is pictured at the White Coat Ceremony
in the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy with his siblings and his parents, WILKES Scott ’94, right, and Donna Dicton Maxwell ’93. 29 giving back
“It is important for us to give back to Wilkes students Two Alumni Give Back because we both benefited from the generosity of others who were willing to share their knowledge and experience with Through Professional us,” Shocker and Sheasley recall. “We believe we can make a difference by offering students tangible, real-world experiences Development and introduce them to others working in the geosciences field.” The conference provides both networking and educational Gneiss is a type of metamorphic rock. It’s also the name of a opportunities. “The unique thing about the conference is that it new scholarship started by two Wilkes alumni who wanted involves traveling to various locations, like mines, quarries, road to give back to the University. It’s an appropriate name for a cuts, around the state to observe and study geologic features scholarship that will give a Wilkes student the opportunity to first-hand,” says Sheasley. He adds that students also have an attend the Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists. opportunity to meet professionals in the industry and explore Heather Shocker ’94 and Jason Sheasley ’93 established the career opportunities. GNEISS Scholarship—which stands for Geologic Networking “The conference is very popular among Commonwealth Experience Initiated by Sheasley and Shocker. With the new geo-scientists and, for logistical reasons, the number of partic- geology major at Wilkes, the pair thought that it would provide ipants each year is limited to 275. In most cases, the conference a good professional experience for students. The two have been is booked within a weeks’ time,” explains Sheasley. He and regular attendees of the conference for several years. It provides Shocker have arranged with the conference coordinators to opportunities for geologists and geo-scientists to learn about the secure a spot for a GNEISS Scholarship recipient each year. geology of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The first scholarship recipient was Emma Sukowaski, who Shocker earned her master’s degree in geology from Michigan is also the first declared geology major at Wilkes. The second Technological University in 1997 and she is now the director of recipient is Ryan Wysocki, a junior geology major. program management with DigitalGlobe, International Defense Sukowaski says attending the event helped her to refine career and Intelligence in Denver, Colo. Sheasley is a licensed profes- and graduate school choices. “At the conference, I learned that sional geologist in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida. He I had many options,” Sukowaski says. She is now considering is an associate and senior hydrogeologist with Kimley-Horn and attending graduate school or obtaining her professional geologist Associates, Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla. license and becoming a consultant.
ABOUT THE GNEISS SCHOLARSHIP
Applicants for the scholarship prepare a 500-word essay explaining why they would like to attend the conference. The recipient must give a short presentation to the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department about the conference to encourage other students to apply.
Shocker and Sheasley would like to challenge fellow alumni to donate to the scholarship. “Our hope is that we will be able to send more than one student to the conference, offering them this unique experience,” they say. Alumni can donate to the scholarship by contacting them at gneiss. [email protected].
For more information about scholarships at Wilkes,
| Fall 2018 contact Margaret Steele at 570-408-4302 or [email protected]. WILKES From left, Jason Sheasley ’93, Wilkes student Emma Sukowaski 30 and Heather Shocker ’94 celebrate opportunities for geologists. class notes
Andrew Bartlow ’10 Receives Postdoctoral Fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Andrew Bartlow ’10 discovered a new world when he began conducting research as an undergraduate at Wilkes University. In his sophomore year he joined the laboratory of Michael Steele, professor of biology and H. Fenner Chair of Research “Having those skills and the Biology, and the experience changed his career path. basic foundation of ecology “I was interested in veterinary medicine at the beginning that I got at Wilkes...allowed of my undergraduate career,” Bartlow says. “I started doing research as a sophomore in Mike Steele’s lab and I didn’t me to explore different areas realize that it was a profession I would like or that it was of research and be involved even a possibility.” Yet Bartlow has made research his career. He is currently in a lot of cool projects.” a Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National - Andrew Bartlow ’10 Laboratory in New Mexico, the laboratory best known for the Manhattan Project and the development of the first Andrew Bartlow ’10 presents research from his work at Los Alamos National Laboratory at the Western Asia Bat Research Network (WAB-Net), held recently atomic bomb. in the Republic of Georgia. PHOTO COURTESY ANDREW BARTLOW Bartlow joined Los Alamos’ Bioscience Division as a graduate research assistant in October 2017 and applied for the highly for his work examining host/parasite interactions in the Great competitive fellowship in February 2018. He says that of more Basin Desert in western Utah. than 30 applicants, he was one of five chosen to receive the “They are all the same,” Bartlow says. “They are all biological prestigious fellowship, which provides research funding for communities. Whether it is a bird, microbial, or parasite up to three years. A community ecologist, Bartlow studies community, all the same concepts and skills apply. So I can biological communities and how environmental change, such as use those statistics and those methods and analyze the data climate change and habitat change, influences communities. the same way. Having those skills and the basic foundation Bartlow is currently researching bird communities in the of ecology that I got at Wilkes as an undergraduate, and Los Alamos area in relation to climate change and pine tree researching with Dr. Steele, allowed me to explore different mortality and is involved in projects studying the microbial areas of research and be involved in a lot of cool projects.” communities of people and animals. He describes himself as the Bartlow says it would be great to be converted to a scientist “stats person:” he analyzes collected data to identify patterns at the laboratory but thinks his ultimate goal would be to work and tests hypotheses related to ecological concepts. He hopes at a liberal arts school, have a few graduate students working to use this research to better understand how environmental with him, and work with undergraduate students as well. change impacts biological communities and if scientists can use He states, “I know the benefit of getting undergraduates certain communities as indicators of environmental change. involved in research. Being at Wilkes and seeing Dr. Steele and Bartlow credits the education he received and the research the rest of the biology department foster that undergraduate experience he gained at Wilkes for his career trajectory. research environment, I think I could do that myself. It’s After graduating from the University with a degree in biology, rewarding, benefits many people and gets potentially the best | Fall 2018 Bartlow pursued a doctoral degree at the University of Utah, people into science as a career.” where he studied parasite community ecology and received a prestigious National Science Foundation Research Fellowship – By Francisco Tutella MFA’16 WILKES
31 class notes
Andrew Seaman ’10 Earns Society of Professional
Journalists “I think of journalism as Highest Honor something that is unchanging— what changes is how you get Andrew Seaman ’10 attended the Society of Professional that information.” Journalists President’s Installation Banquet in Baltimore, – Andrew Seaman ’10 Md., this September for the final time as the chair of the organization’s ethics committee. But what he thought would Andrew Seaman ’10, at podium, accepts the Wells Memorial Key for Outstanding Service to the Society of Professional Journalists. be a night of reflection turned into a celebration. PHOTO COURTESY THE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS Seaman was awarded the Wells Memorial Key for Outstanding Service to the Society. It is the group’s highest sure users are in the know. “LinkedIn wants to start putting achievement, awarded to the member who is judged to have that information out there to utilize that information for other served the society in the most outstanding fashion during the members,” explains Seaman, who majored in communication preceding year or over a period of years. studies at Wilkes. “He is one of the most reliable people I have ever worked After earning his master’s degree from Columbia University’s with,” says Lynn Walsh, former Society of Professional Graduate School of Journalism, he was employed by Thomson Journalists president. “He is constantly available, timely with Reuters. As the senior medical journalist and then digital editor projects and just fun to work with. Andrew has a way of during his roughly seven years with the organization, he covered getting serious points across by adding in a bit of wit.” the Affordable Care Act, the White House and health policy. In 2014 Seaman became the chair of the organization’s Though the Wells Memorial Key was his lastest ethics committee. “It’s sort of surreal,” he says. “I wouldn’t achievement, Seaman also was previously recognized with have expected to be able to do that.” He first joined the three President’s Awards from the Society of Professional organization’s board of directors as a student member, and Journalists for his work chairing its ethics committee. then was named to the awards committee before chairing the Stepping down from his role at the Society of Professional ethics committee. He was part of the group which reviewed Journalists has allowed time for a new perspective, Seaman and edited the code of ethics which hadn’t been updated reflects. “It’s been a wonderful part of my life.” since 1996. The code provides the cornerstone for profes- Seaman has been a journalist since his undergraduate career sional standards for all journalists. at Wilkes where he was the editor-in-chief of the student But since then, Seaman has shifted fields in the world of newspaper, The Beacon. “Wilkes was a fantastic education communications. He joined LinkedIn in May 2018. Seaman because it wasn’t big and you could do stuff right away,” he joined the company, touted as the world’s largest professional says adding, “That prepared me to jump in on projects.” network, as news editor. Based in New York City, he works He credits his Wilkes mentors for their support—and notes with a team to provide the news and views that members that it does not end at graduation. Part of his support network need to discuss what matters most in their fields. includes Andrea Frantz, who was an associate professor of “The way they approach journalism is unlike other tech communication studies during his time at Wilkes, and Mark companies—it’s really innovative,” he says. “I think of Stine, professor and chair of communication studies. journalism as something that is unchanging—what changes is “It’s fun to run into your Wilkes support network—to run how you get that information.” into them in the city,” he says. “It’s good to have people from LinkedIn provides users with access to information from Wilkes with you throughout your career. Seaman says his
| Fall 2018 leading professionals and industries in resources like the time at Wilkes, as well as his various internships and career LinkedIn Daily Rundown. Seaman explains that the team keeps experiences, have positioned him for what comes next.
WILKES up to date with professionals and industry trends to make – By Sarah Bedford ’17 32 class notes
Undergraduate
1962 The award was presented Ruth Melberger of West during the state association Pittston, Pa., conducted a annual meeting in May in tree tour of West Pittston in Hershey, Pa. The Liberty Bell conjunction with the West Award honors individuals for Pittston Library. Area residents their outstanding community attended the 90-minute tour service and for promoting the blessing of liberty guaranteed by where Melberger pointed 1976 out different varieties of trees, the Constitution. After teaching 1970 Joseph Jedju of Flagtown, including a magnolia tree business law at Pleasant Valley N.J., was recently honored rarely seen in this climate. High School for nearly 40 Carl Charnetski of Harveys as general music teacher Lake, Pa., professor of years, Catina currently serves of the year for 2018 by the psychology at Wilkes, was West Virginia Society for 1967 as tipstaff to President Judge recently honored by S.A.F.E. General Music. His award was William Schmidt of Margherita Worthington of Inc. with the Angel of Autism presented in Charleston, W. Pioneer Award. Roseburg, Ore., and his the Monroe County Court of Va., on March 9 before the start of the annual All State wife Gretchen, spent the Common Pleas. Children’s Choir concert. summer of 2018 working Hebrew skills and to serve as at the front desk of the Best James Wills of Sterling, Va., a tool for students to learn Western Weston Inn in West was named the managing the liturgy of the Sabbath 1976 Yellowstone, Mont. member of Phillips Strategic evening prayers. Barbara Gavlick Hartnett of Advisors, a business Swoyersville, Pa., retired from 1969 development company 1974 her costume rental business Robert Catina, of Effort, Pa., specializing in Asian, Africa Pamela Pethick Gale and Costumes by Barbara in received the Pennsylvania Bar and Middle Eastern markets. Randall Gale of Camp Hill, March after over 30 years in Association’s Young Lawyers Pa., have been married 44 years. business. She continues her Division Liberty Bell Award. 1970 Pamela is retired from teaching love of costumes and theatre Rabbi and Cantor Elliot reading in the Camp Hill in her online ETSY shop Rosenbaum of Laredo, Texas, School District. She previously “Surely You Jester.” published his latest video, worked in the personnel office “Hashkiveynu,” which is of the Pennsylvania Department Noel Jorgensen Cardew, available on YouTube. The of General Services. Randall Bouraine Meehan Smith, project began in 2013 with is a partner in the Harrisburg, Mary Lou Murray Brady the composing, recording and Pa., office of the law firm of and Sandy Akromas publishing on YouTube of 20 Thomas, Thomas & Hafer LLP, Thomson—also known as original songs based upon the where he has worked for the the Wilkes College Barre liturgy of the Jewish Sabbath last 33 years. He previously Hall girls—got together in Evening Service. Rosenbaum worked in the Pennsylvania July at the Barley Creek began to republish in 2015, Office of the Attorney General Restaurant in Tannersville, adding vocal harmony and and as a law clerk with the Pa., for a mini reunion. instruments to each audio United States District Court 1965 track. The videos are part for the Middle District of 1978 Leslie (Tobias) Jenkins of a whole album, “Friday Pennsylvania. Michael Heller of Marshall, of Aurora, Colo., and Jim Night!,” which was inspired Texas, was named a charter Jenkins recently took a by The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Bruce Weinstock of member of the newly cruise to the Baltic countries Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Kingston, Pa., and his wife formed Brig Gen Camp 5, including Russia. Leslie and Jim Jenkins are pictured in Rosenbaum created the album Nancy were honored on April Department of Texas, Sons of front of the iconic St. Basil’s to add accessible melodies 27 by the Wyoming Valley Union Veterans of the Civil | Fall 2018 Cathedral in Red Square, to the cantorial repertoire to Children’s Association for more War and has been appointed Moscow. encourage those with limited than 30 years of service. chaplain by the camp. WILKES
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1980 1985 1994 1997 Mark Rado was presented Timothy Williams of Lt. Col. Robert McAllister Shawn Harden of with the Achievement Medal Lancaster, Pa., has recently of Marlboro, Md., assumed Blacksburg, Va., was for Civilian Service by retired been appointed the command of the historic promoted to senior commander Sgt. Maj. Marshall superintendent of the unit of the 1st Battalion associate at Dewberry, an Williams. York Suburban School 109th Infantry Regiment, engineering consulting firm. District in York County, 28TH Infantry Division. Previously, Harden was a Pa. He was previously the The Pennsylvania Army civil engineering and land 1982 superintendent of the National Guard unit consists development expert with Ruth McDermott-Levy Westmont Hilltop School of more than 700 soldiers the Danville, Virginia, firm. Harden has been with the of Villanova, Pa., received District in Johnstown, Pa. and is based in Honesdale, Earlier in his career he Williamsport, Tamaqua, firm for more than 17 years, a Fulbright-Saastamoinen served in various school Stroudsburg, New Milford, and is the civil and economic Foundation Health and administrative roles in and Carbondale. It is the development department manager, responsible for Environmental Sciences Award Lancaster County, Pa. unit in which McAllister Williams is pictured being originally enlisted in 1991. leading an experienced team for teaching and research. She sworn in as a commissioned McAllister previously had of engineers in the layout and will be at the University of officer by Pennsylvania been assigned to the Army design of industrial parks and commerce centers. Harden Eastern Finland from August to Secretary of Education Capabilities Integration Pedro Rivera. Center, Fort Eustis, Va.; is currently overseeing the December 2018. which develops capabilities design of the SoVa Mega for the Army’s future force. Site at Berry Hill, located in Pittsylvania County, Va. 1983 1987 He has served in Bosnia Margie Eckroth-Bucher Helen Barrett Snyder of and Iraq and in homeland operations related to of Bloomsburg, Pa., retired Watstontown, Pa., recently Hurricane Katrina and Brian Malina of Easton, Pa., on June 30, 2017, from married Robert Snyder. Operation Jump Start. started a new job as director Bloomsburg University after 24 They live with their golden of marketing and communi- years. She was a full professor retriever, Cosette. They were cations at the New Jersey of nursing, and upon retiring married in Helen’s hometown 1990 Institute of Technology’s Ying was granted Faculty Emeritus church, Saints Peter and Paul Janice Saldukas-Parsons Wu College of Computing. status by the university’s in Towanda, Pa., and celebrated is an education associate in council of trustees. afterwards at her family’s the Exceptional Children’s 1997 Barrett Century Farm. She Workgroup at the Delaware Sean Higginson of Saint Ellen Van Riper of Phoenix, is the director of religious State Department of Charles, Mo., was recently Ariz., was promoted to the education at St. Joseph’s Education. named president of Radiology position of chief deputy Church in Milton, Pa. Consultants of Lynchburg in city attorney for the City of 1993 Lynchburg, Va. Surprise, Ariz. 1988 Daryle Cardone of Virginia Edward Nowicki retired from Beach, Va., was named the 1998 1984 the United States Air Force on executive officer of the USS Phillip Torres of Brooklyn, Michael Williams of Liberty, June 1, 2016, as a lieutenant George Washington, a Nimitz N.Y., a licensed respiratory N.Y., was recently appointed colonel. His retirement Class aircraft carrier, in care practitioner, is now | Fall 2018 superintendent of schools in ceremony was held at Lackland Newport News, Va. He serves practicing respiratory therapy the Tri-Valley Central School Air Force Base in Texas. in the U.S. Navy. at Renown Regional Medical
WILKES District, in Grahamsville, N.Y. Center in Reno, Nev.
34 class notes
James Alfano Jr. ’15 Promotes Cultural Understanding With Fulbright
James Alfano Jr. ’15 received the Fulbright U.S. Student “Taiwan is in the news or brought up occasionally, but only Program award to Taiwan in education. Alfano is teaching in the context of escalating tensions with China,” he says. “The English at Hualien City School Districts as part of a project citizens of Taiwan have been incredibly nice and considerate, to promote cultural understanding and language instruction despite my vast unfamiliarity with the Chinese language. to Taiwanese students. The award is presented by the U.S. I aspire to continue learning about their culture to truly Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign understand the values of both their citizens and students.” Scholarship Board. Alfano graduated from Wilkes with majors in When he returns, he aspires to teach his American students history and secondary education. about Taiwanese culture in a more immersive way to remove Alfano is one of over 1,900 U.S. citizens conducting research, misconceptions and stereotypes. In doing this, Alfano will teaching English and providing expertise abroad for the continue the Fulbright Program tradition of building lasting 2018-2019 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student connections between the people of the United States and the Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis people of other countries. of academic and professional achievement as well as a record of “Ultimately, I believe this experience will make me not only service and leadership potential in their respective fields. a more culturally empathetic individual, but a more effective “I feel very thankful for the opportunity to teach in Taiwan teacher that can draw on real-world, first-hand experiences and provide English instruction that are critical when discussing while teaching their students “...I’m happy to represent my concepts in high school social about Western culture,” Alfano studies classrooms,” he says. says. “It’s definitely a once-in-a- country and university in a way lifetime experience and I’m happy that’s impactful to students – By Samantha Stanich MA’18 to represent my country and who are entering a very university in a way that’s impactful to students who are entering a different, globalized world.” very different, globalized world.” - James Alfano Jr. ’15 Alfano was nervous about how James Alfano Jr. ’15 is seen at the the citizens of Hualien would respond to him since it is a small entrance of Chung Yuan Primary city without much diversity. However, as soon as the Wilkes School in Hualien City, Taiwan, where he is teaching. PHOTO graduate set foot on foreign soil, everyone welcomed him and COURTESY JAMES ALFANO JR. helped make the cultural adjustment easier than expected. Alfano will be in Taiwan until June 30, 2019, spending almost a full year in Taiwan. Before leaving, he researched the country’s school system and learned how they feel about learning English. “I learned very quickly that it’s different from your typical American school setting,” he says. “I think having that prior knowledge allowed me to align my expectations properly and avoid getting too blindsided by the differences.” He credits his ability to adapt and learn in new, unfamiliar environments to what he learned at Wilkes. “My student teaching seminar was incredibly helpful for preparing me for this, as that was one of the busiest times of my life,” he says. “There were challenges to overcome, and I believe the counsel I received from the education and history departments
allowed me to persevere and find my own teaching style.” | Fall 2018 Alfano is hoping to learn about a culture that he believes “often goes unnoticed on the world stage.” WILKES
35 class notes
2006 2009 Jason Bozinko and Sarah Doman-Bozinko of Swoyersville, Pa., welcomed their baby boy, Jackson Francis on April 16, 2018 Jeffrey Bauman of Duryea, 2008 Pa., accepted a position Mark Congdon Jr. of at Johnson College as an 2001 section of LNP, Lancaster’s Greensboro, N.C., graduated academic advisor. In this William Layo of Memphis, Sunday newspaper. The story was with a doctorate in newly created position, communication with a Bauman will coach and Tenn., is working for SAIC about Hippocampus, the online concentration in social counsel students through as an information strategic literary magazine that Talarico entrepreneurship in course selection as well planning consultant for the Beerman founded and edits, and communication pedagogy as assess and measure and educational leadership student success based on City of Memphis. Books at Hippocampus, a book from the University of Maine retention and persistence to publishing arm that her business in May. Congdon accepted an degree completion. Bauman 2002 launched in 2017. assistant professor position completed his Master of Arts degree in higher education Sandra (Burke Porasky) at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y., beginning in from Messiah College Fassett of Shickshinny, Pa., 2008 fall 2018. Congdon is pictured in spring 2016. He also had a chance meeting with Mark Levy of Aventura, Fla., at his graduation from the was recently elected as a the granddaughter of Wilkes’ published a collection of 70 University of Maine with member of Duryea Borough his Ph.D. co-advisor, Liliana Council for a four-year term. founding President Eugene short essays, Trophy Envy, Herakova, left, and University Bauman is pictured at his Farley. While Fassett and her that he had broadcast on of Maine President. Susan J. first meeting of the Duryea husband were standing in line the public radio show, Hunter, right. Borough Council. to enter Magnolia Market in Weekend Radio. Waco, Texas, owned by Joanna 2010 2015 and Chip Gaines of HGTV’s Wendy Miller of Muncy, Pa., Jason R. Woloski of Rasha Shaker of Greater “Fixer Upper,” they struck up was named assistant dean of Plains, Pa., was promoted to Nashville, Tenn., was promoted a conversation with a young health sciences at Pennsylvania assistant program director of to research and engagement woman standing behind College of Technology. In May, the Geisinger Kistler Family supervisor at Grayscale them. They learned that the she completed her doctorate, Medicine Residency in Marketing in Nashville, woman’s grandfather was the receiving the Doctor of Wilkes-Barre. Woloski continues Tenn. Previously she was the founder of Wilkes College. Education degree in educational to see family medicine patients advertising and marketing leadership from Gwynedd at the Geisinger Kingston coordinator for the company. 2005 Mercy University. Outpatient Clinic and Geisinger She is now a member of Darron Fadden of Scranton, Wyoming Valley Hospital. He The Recording Academy, the Pa., and his wife Jessica, 2009 also serves as a clinical assistant largest professional organi- welcomed daughter, Cecilia Jonathan Hummel of professor of family medicine for zation in the music industry. Mae, on Aug. 22, 2018. She Schuylkill Haven, Pa., began the Geisinger Commonwealth weighed in at 7 pounds, 6 working as a staff accountant at School of Medicine. 2016 ounces and was 21 inches long. Evans Network of Companies Justin Davis graduated from in April 2018. Prior to 2013 University of Pennsylvania 2007 working with Evans, he was a Trisha O’Boyle Perrin of with a master of science in Donna Talarico Beerman staff accountant at Schuylkill Swoyersville, Pa., wrote a education degree focusing on
| Fall 2018 MFA’10 of Lancaster, Pa., Community Action. children’s book, Luna the policy and reform. recently was featured in a Rescue. It was published Feb. front-page story in the living 15, 2018. WILKES
36 class notes
2017 Erin Gallagher ’13 James Brown of Scranton, Pa., started a business, The Creates Graphic Brown Initiative, LLC., with his siblings, Christian and Dianna Brown. The Images of Social performing arts company puts on shows featuring Media Activity singing, dancing, and live music. The trio performs Integrative media alumna Erin Gallagher ’13 of Kingston, locally near their home in Pa., has been creating visual representations of social Daleville, Pa., and Scranton, media activity since February 2017. Her work has been 2001 Pa. In March, Brown gaining attention and has been featured on the online Sherri Maret MS of continued his baseball career Chambersburg, Pa., recently news site Buzzfeed. It recently earned her an interview when he signed to a team published her book, The with the Canadian Broadcasting Company. in France that is part of the Cloud Artist. It is now Gallagher describes her work as “ongoing social media a finalist for the 2018 French Federation of Baseball research.” She started her data visualizations to help others Oklahoma Book Award. and Softball. He signed a Sherri is a veteran English understand social media manipulation. contract to play for the Metz teacher and librarian “After the 2016 election there was a lot of fear about and is now a full-time Cometz for the 2018 season propaganda bots swaying public opinion and trolls nudging author. She taught in the which will keep him in Chambersburg, Cumberland us to vote one way or another, or to not vote at all,” she France until October 2018. Valley, and Shippensburg, explains. “So my original intention was to show people what Pa., school districts for 20 Twitter bots look like, and I’ve done that a few times. But years. Another book is in Rachel Leandri of Wyoming, the works for a release later I’ve found that there is also value in showing people what Pa., is the co-owner of the on this year. our real human interactions on social media look like.” dance studio, Broadway on Describing her process, Gallagher says she downloads the Boulevard in Pittston, Pa., tweets for a hashtag or a keyword. She then creates a with partner Brad Chikowski. Bednarz has received the network graph of that Twitter activity using Gephi, an open The studio was formerly honor for 10 consecutive source network visualization software that reveals patterns known as the Pittston David years in the field of workers and trends in the data being researched. The result is a Blight School of Dance. A compensation law. visual representation of a digital conversation shown by ribbon-cutting ceremony burst of color on a black background, resembling fireworks was conducted by Wilkes 2010 at night. Pictured below is a graphic reflecting the online University’s Small Business Donna Talarico Beerman activity around the hashtag #metoo, which exploded on Development Center in MFA, see undergraduate 2007. social media amid news related to sexual assault allegations. August. A feature about the It was featured in Artnet News in November 2017. studio ran in the Times 2011 – By Samantha Stanich MA’18 Leader online. Sarah Doman-Bozinko MS, see undergraduate 2006.
Graduate 2012 2001 Liz Krewson-Ross MBA Robert Catina MS, see recently joined the team undergraduate, 1969. at the Evergreen Family of Companies in Wyoming, Pa., 2006 as the manager of marketing John A. Bednarz Jr. of and social media. Prior to her Shavertown, Pa., has been current position, she was the selected a Pennsylvania marketing and communi- Super Lawyer for 2018 cations specialist at NiUG | Fall 2018 by Philadelphia Magazine. International. WILKES
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In Memoriam
1940 Annabel (Rosenheim) 1954 1960 Mary Elizabeth (Schwager) Morris of Kingston, Pa., died Thomas Robert Adams of Norbert ‘Bud’ Hysick of Burnaford of Lancaster, Pa., on May 19, 2018. She owned Nanticoke, Pa., died on Feb. New Britain Borough, Pa., died on Dec. 21, 2018. She and operated A.E. Morris 18, 2018. He served in the died on Nov. 16, 2017. He loved music and participated Jewelers in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Navy for four years, ending was a veteran with the U.S. actively as a pianist. with her husband Abraham. his career as a lieutenant. Army and was stationed in Japan shortly after the Korean 1946 1950 1957 conflict. He was employed Harriet B. (Brown) Edwin Johnson of Dallas, Pa., James E. Mark of for 30 years as a salesman by Schectman of Scranton, Pa., died on Feb. 16, 2018. Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and St. the Joseph Dixon Crucible died June 29, 2018. She was an Petersburgh, Fla., died on Company and later worked aging program representative for 1951 Sept. 23, 2017. He was an for the Pennsylvania Liquor the Pennsylvania Department Shirley (Salsburg) Bernard internationally renowned Control Board and Hatfield of Aging for Lackawanna and of Forty Fort, Pa., died on polymer chemist and was Auto Auction. adjacent counties. May 9, 2018. employed as a professor of chemistry by the University 1961 1948 Melvin H. Feltz of of Michigan. He also was Maurice D. James of Elmo Clemente of Kingston, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., died on a professor of chemistry at Allentown, Pa., died on April Pa., died on March 9, 2018. He March 30, 2018. He served the University of Cincinnati 5, 2018. He was employed by was a member of the U.S. Navy, in the U.S. Army Air Corps., and was the first honoree the public accounting firm of serving as an executive officer 4th Air Force West Coast, for there to be named distin- Peat, Marwick and Mitchell. aboard the LSM 246 during three years as a radio operator. guished research professor. He and his wife owned and the invasion of Okinawa in the He owned and operated an He published more than operated Ashley’s Greenhouses South Pacific. He also served upscale women’s clothing 650 research papers; and and Florist. during the Korean War. He was store, The Hollywood Shop, in coauthored or coedited 24 a certified public accountant Wilkes-Barre. books. He was the founding Donald Radnor of Charlotte, and co-founded the accounting editor of the journal N.C., formerly of Mountain firm Snyder & Clemente. 1952 Computational and Theoretical Top, Pa., died on Feb. 24, Charles Augustine Caffrey Polymer Science. He received 2018. He served in the Navy 1949 of Williamsport, Pa., died on numerous honors including during the Korean War as Joseph A. Hughes Jr. of Jan. 12, 2018. He was in the the ACS Kippling Award; the a naval aviation electronics Dallas, Pa., died on July 23, U.S. Army where he served Flory Polymer Education engineer, Air Transport 2018. He served in World War in Army Intelligence. After Award; and the Reed Squadron 22. He was an II with the U.S. Army. He was being honorably discharged, Lectureship at Rensselear. insurance broker and served also a professional engineer and he worked for the National on the Crestwood School principal in the Hughes Corp. Security Agency as an 1958 District School Board. and Home Fuel Corp. analyst during the height of William A. Zdancewicz the Cold War. He earned a of Edwardsville, Pa., died on 1962 Jack M. Kloeber of degree in law. Jan. 13, 2018. He served in Judy Lawrence of Nanticoke, Harleysville, Pa., and Lansdale, the U.S. Navy during the Pa., and Dover, Del., died on Pa., died on May 8, 2018. He 1953 Korean War. He also worked March 27, 2016. She taught was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Theresa B.(Cionzynski) for the Girl Scouts and was a language arts and social studies U.S. Army and a veteran of Lastowski of Nanticoke, Pa., barbershop quartet singer. at Central Middle School in World War II. He was employed died on Jan. 13, 2018. She was Delaware for many years. by Sordoni Construction employed by Mercy Hospital, 1959 in Forty Fort, Pa., and was Wilkes-Barre, Pa., as a medical Lynne (Herskovitz)
| Fall 2018 a partner with Heddon technologist as well as by the Warshal died on Aug. 1, Construction in Dallas, Pa. Department of Veterans Affairs 2016. Medical Center, Plains Twp., Pa. WILKES
38 class notes
1964 Pennsylvania Department Karen (Lewis) Harvard of 1980 Jennie A. (Moses) George of Welfare Child Support Waverly, Pa., died on April John Miranda of Richboro, of Wyomissing, Pa., died on website. He was a founder of 22, 2018. She was briefly Pa., died on Aug. 29, 2016. He July 29, 2018. She worked the Heights Packers football employed by International was a lieutenant colonel in the loading shells in a munitions team and the Wyoming Valley Paper. She was a beautiful U.S. Marine Corps. factory during World War Junior Football Conference. swimmer, a talented person II. She also taught in the with cross-stitch and yarn, 1981 Wilkes-Barre Area School Eleanor M. Krushefski of and an avid reader and lover R. Malcolm Bowes III of District for 27 years, much of Hanover Twp., Pa., died on of animals. Shavertown, Pa., died on April the time teaching fourth grade May 8, 2018. She was the 16, 2018. He was a systems at Dodson School. choir director at Exaltation 1971 analyst and a special project of the Holy Cross Church William H. Theurer of manager for the United Postal Paula A. (Mesaris) Odell of and made numerous operatic Lancaster, Pa., died on April Service. Middlesex, N.J., and formerly appearances locally and in 23, 2018. He served in the of Exeter, Pa., died on April 2, other areas. Army Reserve and was James W. Kearney of Laflin, 2017. She was a kindergarten employed by Henkels & Pa., died on June 20, 2018. teacher in Middlesex, N.J. Joseph P. McGraw Sr. of McCoy for 37 years. He was a general agent with Shavertown, Pa., died on the Knights of Columbus for 1966 May 29, 2018. He was a U.S. 1974 38 years. Frank Malia Jr. of Forty Navy veteran and served Mary B. (Becker) Marshall Fort, Pa., died on April 16, in the Korean War. He was of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., died Michael A. Kowaleski of 2018. He served in the U.S. employed by the Pennsylvania on April 19, 2018. She was Wyoming, Pa., died on June 21, Air Force during the Korean Department of Public Welfare employed by the state of 2018. He worked for Century conflict. He was employed as an income maintenance Pennsylvania as a disability 21 as a real estate broker. by IBM and was a sales caseworker. claims adjudicator for over 30 representative for Armour years. 1982 Pharmaceutical. Katherine M. (Urban) Mary Teresa Rondine of Panzitta of Mountain Top, 1975 Plymouth, Pa., died on March 1968 Pa., died on May 15, 2018. Hugh M. Richards of Dallas, 28, 2018. Marianna (Tomassetti) She devoted her life to the Pa., died on March 11, 2018. Baldwin of Havertown, Pa., healthcare profession and He was a gas well farmer. 1983 and Devon, Pa., died on worked with the Keystone William Kopf Lourie March 2, 2018. She worked Job Corps. 1977 of Mullica Hill, Pa., died as an administrative assistant Angie B. Chapasko of Ashley, on Feb. 18, 2018. He was for the Commonwealth of 1970 Pa., died on March 14, 2018. employed by Brandywine Pennsylvania. Angelo O. Garofalo of Clarks She was a registered nurse Global Investments as a Summit, Pa., died on May for Mount Sinai Hospital in computer programmer in the 1969 30, 2018. He was employed New York City; Wilkes-Barre Philadelphia area. Fred L. Ford Jr. of Halifax, as a music history professor General Hospital, Plains Pa., died on June 20, 2018. He at the University of Scranton Twp., Pa.; Children’s Service James Dabney Watkinson of was a U.S. Army veteran and as well as director of strategic Center, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Richmond, Va., died on May served with the 759th Military initiatives by American Janitor and Northeast Counseling, 31, 2018. He was a U.S. Army Police during the Vietnam and Paper Supply. Hazleton, Pa. veteran. He earned a doctorate War. He was employed by in American history from the the Commonwealth of Karen Line of Wilkes-Barre, University of Virginia. He Pennsylvania, Department Pa., died on Jan. 2, 2018. taught at various colleges in of Welfare, where he led Virginia, including Virginia | Fall 2018 the development of the Commonwealth University. WILKES
39 class notes
1985 2003 and basketball games and Henry served as a director Nancy J. Lane of Deborah Susan Gabriel at wrestling matches. He of many local, regional and Tunkhannock, Pa., died on Macri of Mountain Top, Pa., earned his bachelor’s degree national companies. He was April 23, 2018. She served died on April 14, 2018. She in economics from the director of C-Tec Corp. and as director of Wyoming and was a health and physical University of Pennsylvania served as honorary director Sullivan County Conservation education teacher for 18 years and also studied at Harvard of Gray Line Corporation, Department. in the Crestwood Area School and Cornell universities. Inc. and served as its director District. Farrar served in World War II and as a member of First Mike Lavage of Scranton, as a member of the U.S. Navy. Union NE Pennsylvania Pa., died on June 7, 2018. 2010 Regional Advisory Board. He worked at Iron City Sash Katherine (Bialczak) Felker Frank Martz Henry of Other companies benefiting and Door, Erie Materials and of Scott Twp., Pa., died on Dallas, Pa., died June 3, 2018. from his leadership as director Harvey Building Products. April 2, 2018. She was the Henry was a member of the included Commonwealth principal at Evans Falls and Wilkes University Board Enterprises Inc. (CTE), 1989 Mill City elementary schools of Trustees since 1977. He Wachovia Corp., Wells Fargo Marilyn (Maslowski) in the Tunkhannock Area was the recipient of Wilkes’ and First Fidelity Inc. Henry Gruenloh of Pittston, Pa., School District. highest honor, the President’s was a past chairman and and formerly Glen Lyon, Pa., Medal, in 2017. The honor member of the Geisinger died on April 30, 2018. She 2012 is bestowed annually on an Health System Foundation worked as a nurse in various Andrea Yorina Vomero individual whose personal Board of Directors, Salvation psychiatric units throughout of West Wyoming, Pa., died and professional life reflect Army Advisory Board and northeast Pennsylvania. She on May 7, 2018. She was the highest aspirations of past chairman of the board of was also a travel nurse in New a registered nurse in the Wilkes University. He had trustees of the Wilke-Barre Jersey and North Carolina. Wilkes-Barre General Hospital a distinguished career in Family YMCA. Intensive Care Unit for almost the transportation industry. Henry graduated from Yale 1991 30 years. He was president of Gold University with a bachelor’s Thomas S. Chirkot of Line, Inc. and served as degree in economics. He was a Swoyersville, Pa., died on June 2017 the president of First Class U.S. Air Force veteran, where 11, 2018. He was employed as Jessica Lynn Helfrich of Coach Company, Inc. He he served in the Strategic Air a general manager by Hebeler Jacksonville, N.C., died on was chairman emeritus of the Command. LLC, Tonawanda, N.Y. He was April 11, 2018. She worked Wilkes-Barre-based Frank also a U.S. patent holder and a for many years as a paralegal. Martz Coach Company and John Horner of Forked published author. the Martz Group companies. River, N.J., and formerly He served as that company’s of Hoboken and Waldwick, Susan (Dalton) St. Onge of Friends president from 1964 to 1995. N.J., died on Jan. 18, 2018. Fanwood, N.J., died on June His generous support for He was a veteran of the U.S. 21, 2018. She played on the Wilkes is reflected in the Air Force and served during first Lady Colonels soccer of Wilkes Henry Student Center, World War II as a radio team at Wilkes. Her higher Welton Grant Farrar of which serves as the center of navigator and gunner. He also education career included Dallas, Pa., died on Aug. 15, campus life at Wilkes since served in the Korean conflict positions at Franklin Pierce 2018. He will be remembered its dedication in November as part of B-24, B-17 and College, Rutgers University, by Wilkes alumni as a beloved 2001. It was named in honor B-29 air crews. He was one Fairleigh Dickinson University, professor of economics at of Henry and his late wife, of the last Flyboys. Princeton University and the University for more than Dorothea. Henry’s generosity Stevens Institute of Technology, 40 years. An avid supporter is also reflected in the Frank where she served as director of of Wilkes athletics, he M. and Dorothea Henry graduate admissions. was elected to the Wilkes Gymnasium, named in May
| Fall 2018 Athletics Hall of Fame. Farrar 1990 in recognition of their will be remembered as a gifts to the Wilkes Tomorrow fixture at Colonels football Capital Campaign. WILKES
40 We are building the Gateway to the Future BRICK BY BRICK OPPORTUNITY BY OPPORTUNITY STUDENT BY STUDENT
The Gateway to the Future Campaign aspires to raise $55 million to meet the goals of the University’s strategic plan of the same name supporting the following goals:
CAMPUS ENHANCEMENT | ENDOWMENT | ANNUAL FUND
There has never been a better time to contribute to Wilkes University. Join us in this effort by making a gift now!
Learn More at www.wilkes.edu/campaign or text Wilkes to 565-12
For more information about ways to give, contact Margaret Steele, chief development officer, at 570-408-4302 or [email protected]. Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
calendar of events
December 2 Civic Band Concert, Dorothy Dickson Darte Center, 3 p.m. 6 Jazz Orchestra Concert, Dorothy Dickson Darte Center, 8 p.m. 8 Flute Ensemble Concert, Dorothy Dickson Darte Center, 8 p.m. 9 Choral Concert, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, South Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre, 3 p.m. 10 Chamber Orchestra Concert, Dorothy Dickson Darte Center, 8 p.m. 14-16 The Nutcracker, Conservatory/Degnan Ballet Center, Dorothy Dickson Darte Center, Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. Through Dec. 16 Loud Silence: Expressions of Activism, Sordoni Art Gallery January 2019 6-10 Maslow Foundation Salon Reading Series, 7 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 6, Barnes & Noble, Public Square, Wilkes-Barre; Jan. 7-10, Dorothy Dickson Darte Center 15-March 1 Käthe Kollwitz: Peasant War, Sordoni Art Gallery 15-March 1 Holly Trostle Brigham: Sacred Sisters, Sordoni Art Gallery 20 Winter Commencement, Henry Gymnasium, Arnaud C. Marts Center, 1 p.m. February 9 Admissions Open House 21-24 Cabaret, Wilkes University Theatre, Dorothy Dickson Darte Center, Thursday-Sunday, 8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m. 28 Dave Eggers, author, Allan Hamilton Dickson Spring Writers Series, 7:30 p.m., Dorothy Dickson Darte Center March 2 Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science 11-16 Degnan Ballet Center 2019 Open House 23 Accepted Student Day April 2-May 18 Ukiyo-E to Shin Hanga: Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Syracuse University Art Collection, Sordoni Art Gallery 14 Bryan Stevenson, “American Injustice: Mercy, Humanity and Making a Diff erence,” Max Rosenn Lecture, 2 p.m., Dorothy Dickson Darte Center 27 Junior Admissions Open House May 18 Spring Commencement, Henry Gymnasium, Arnaud C. Marts Center, Graduate Ceremony, 10 a.m., Undergraduate Ceremony, 3 p.m. PHOTO BY KNOT JUST ANY DAY
For details on times and locations, check www.wilkes.edu and www.wilkes.edu/alumni or phone (800) WILKES-U.